NCBA President on the Trade Agreement Between Australia and Japan

In response to the announcement of a Bilateral Trade Agreement reached between Australia and Japan, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Bob McCan, a Victoria, Texas cattleman issued the following statement:

"NCBA is deeply concerned that the Bilateral Trade Agreement between Japan and Australia does not call for full tariff elimination. This Bilateral Agreement undermines the long-standing goals and principles that are the base of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). This development only pushes the high-standing ideals of TPP further out of reach for all countries involved, and it is not a move that U.S. beef producers can support. The TPP has been referred to as a 21st century agreement, but this Bilateral Agreement is from the 20th century playbook and will not serve to foster open trade and certainly will not benefit consumers and producers globally."